Armenia has been chosen as a guest of honor of the 19th Sharjah Heritage Days cultural festival in the United Arab Emirates, not only because of the long-standing and close ties between the Armenian and Arab peoples, but also because of its quality products. The organizer of the festival, chairman Abdulaziz Almusallam of the Sharjah Institute For Heritage, said this in an interview with Armenian News-NEWS.am.
"Especially seeing the work done skillfully in the field of crafts, we always say that this must be the handiwork of an Armenian. Armenians are well versed in work and quality products. Besides, human contacts are important, which I think will develop more and will be lasting," said the chairman of the aforesaid institute, who had visited the Armenian pavilion at the Sharjah Heritage Days.
In 12 halls of the spacious pavilion of Armenia, the cultural heritage of our country is presented: miniature painting, carpet weaving, needlework, embroidery, woodworking, cross-stone making, puppetry, and Armenian costumes.
Armenia is participating in this prestigious festival for the first time as an honorary guest. Chairman Abdulaziz Almusallam of the Sharjah Institute for Heritage hopes that cooperation with Armenia will increase in the near future. The institute is already implementing some programs in Armenia.
"We have many ties with Armenia, which are regulated by agreements—for example, in the field of translation. In order to exchange experience, we cooperate with the National Gallery of Armenia, we also have close cooperation with the Matenadaran. We are full of hope that the cooperation in other spheres will also deepen," said Abdulaziz Almusallam, noting that Arab culture days may be held in Armenia in the near future.
The Sharjah Heritage Days festival is held in the center of Sharjah and in the eastern regions of the city. During the first week, the festival had more than 102 thousand visitors—both from the United Arab Emirates and around the world. Chairman Abdulaziz Almusallam of the Sharjah Institute for Heritage considers this year's festival a success.
"This year the festival is special, there is a great involvement of people, the number of visitors is increasing day by day. The event was spread also among social media users. I think the impact of the festival this year is obviously great," said the chairman of the aforesaid institute.
The annual Sharjah Heritage Days festival kicked off this year on March 10 and will continue until March 28. The festival has been held since 2003. It is considered one of the most famous cultural events and is organized within the framework of the UNESCO World Heritage Days.
To note, in order to strengthen the Armenian-Arab friendly relations, the Haghartsin Monastery of Armenia was renovated in 2013 by the benevolence of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, United Arab Emirates Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah.
